(a) The Delaware Public Education Equity Ombudsperson Program (Program) is hereby established and adopted in place of the contractual program currently maintained by the Department of Education. The expanded Program shall be maintained by the Department of State.
(b) The purposes of the Program are as follows:
(1) To address issues involving both individual students and systemic reform where inequities arise for students who are of low socioeconomic status or members of a protected class under Delaware state or federal law.
(2) To provide nonlegal intervention and assistance with schools, districts, and the Department of Education to resolve disputes or complaints concerning disparate discipline, inequitable access to school programs, or otherwise different or unfair treatment of students, particularly those who are members of protected classes or of low socioeconomic status.
(3) To support schools, districts, and the Department of Education to develop and revise policies and regulations to improve education equity.
(4) To provide information and resources regarding research-based best practices to ensure equity, including discipline, academic, teacher diversity, effective instruction, curriculum, social emotional learning and extended learning supports.
(5) To assist in finding legal assistance for students or families where nonlegal advocacy fails or where the nature of the dispute warrants legal assistance.
(c) The Program shall be run through a nonprofit, nonstate entity that is contracted for a period of 3 years by the Department of State through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The Department of State is the contracting entity, but RFP development and award decisions shall be made in consultation with the Education Equity Council as set forth under § 4148 of this title.
(d) The Program staff shall be available to act as nonlawyer advocates for students and their families in any proceedings conducted by schools or local, Delaware state, or federal education agencies.
(e) (1) The Program may, if it determines it to be appropriate and desirable, refer systemic matters to attorneys for further investigation and action. The Program may refer individual matters for legal services, if requested by the family, when any of the following conditions are met:
a. Reasonable efforts have been made to resolve the issue with the school, district, and/or Department of Education and such attempts have been unsuccessful.
b. The nature of ongoing harm to the student is such that immediate legal intervention is in the best interest of the student.
(2) Funds appropriated to the Program may be used to:
a. Procure general legal counsel regarding the scope of rights and protections under local, state, or federal education law; or
b. Pay a lawyer for assistance with, attendance at, or representation in administrative proceedings and appeals, including appeals taken to Delaware state or federal courts.
In no event may Program funds be used to pay for preparation of, commencement of, participation in, or advising upon litigation or other proceedings against the State or its agencies, employees, or officials except as permitted in the preceding sentence.
(f)(1) The Program shall annually provide a report to the Education Equity Council, the Governor, the Chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees, the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, the Chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, the Controller General, the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Legislative Services, and the Public Archives that contains at least the following information:
a. The number of students served by the Program in each of the preceding 3 years. This shall include a breakdown of students by grade level (elementary, middle, or high school), school district, school, race, gender, disability status, and socioeconomic status.
b. The number of students referred to a legal services provider or pro bono attorney.
c. The category of the problem the Program assisted with, including academic concerns, disciplinary issues, attendance, transportation, safety, bullying, or harassment.
d. The number of employees or consultants engaged by the Program. For employees, whether they are full- or part-time, and for consultants, the number of hours worked over the course of the contract period.
e. Systemic equity issues identified by the Program, and recommended solutions.
f. The amount spent on legal services or otherwise paid to a lawyer or a law firm.
g. The number of referrals made to a lawyer, law firm, or legal services agency, including the category of the problem faced by the student, and whether the referral was made to a nonprofit legal services agency or a private attorney or law firm.
(2) The report required by this paragraph may not include any personal identifying information for any student or their family and must comply with the requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 C.F.R Part 99.